Ghosts of the Past, Dreams of the Furture
by Queen-Akasha
Summary: Evil lurks in the darkness, threatening to distory Konaha. An ex-shinobi of the villiage returns to her home, hoping to be able to stop the bloodshed she knows is coming. An Iruka centric story.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N:** Holding up one's pinky finger and saying 'kore' is equivilant to saying 'girlfriend'.

**Chapter One**

She couldn't breathe. The darkness surrounded and suffocated her, pressing down on her chest making her struggle for each breath. Slowly, she forced her eyes open. Before her was a towering plant, stretched heavenward towards the sun. With a great force of will, she urged her body to move from the darkness. The plant's leaves swayed in the wind, waving invitingly to her as she moved towards it. As she got closer, she could see that there were many flowering blossoms adorning the plant, with a large, red star shaped flower at the very peak. She smiled. It was beautiful, and as she collapsed in the shade under it, she realized that she was home at last. She was at peace.

Suddenly, out of the darkness, an ominous hissing noise filled the air. Two yellow eyes glowed, and the air became poison. She couldn't move. The yellow eyes came closer, and closer, looming huge against the blackness. A snout, two glittering fangs, and a flickering forked tongue. The behemoth serpent slithered slowly towards the flowering plant, death gleaming in its eyes.

She opened her mouth to scream a warning, but she couldn't. She tried to stand up and fight the creature, but she couldn't. All she could do was watch as the snake, laughing evilly in a deep, raspy voice, coiled to strike.

The crimson flower at the head of the plant turned and bent forward, seeming to regard the snake. The petals on the flower shimmered with energy and seemed to sing. The snake turned towards it, smiled, then attacked. The fangs of the snake sunk deeply into the heart of the flower, and it began to bleed.

Her vision was tinted red with the blood as the flower fell to the ground. Her tears mixed with the sticky redness as the once majestic flower shriveled and turned black. Dead. But the leaves whispered, all was not lost. The snake reared back, shrieking. Poison coursed through the giant monster's body, and it retreated weak and broken back into the silent darkness. In sacrificing its life, the flower has ensured the survival of the magnificent, ancient plant.

She reached out to caress the still, black form of the once vibrant flower. It turned to dust beneath her fingers. She screamed. And then woke up.

Panting, she felt her cool sheets beneath her, damp with sweat. She began to sob silently, trying to slow the frantic beating of her heart. The nightmares were getting more vivid, more real. There could be no mistaking the meaning behind the dream. She had to warn them, before it was too late.

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Iruka shuffled through the last of the students' papers, straightening them into a pile and pushing them to the side of his desk. Tiredly he rubbed his eyes, then leaned against the desk, pushing his chair back and standing up. As he turned to go, he accidentally bumped the edge of the desk, and heard a small thump as one of the pictures sitting there fell face forward. Cursing softly under his breath, he rubbed his hip vigorously and turned back to his desk. Reaching out, he began to place the photo upright, but paused when he saw which one it was. Smiling slightly, he picked it up and looked at it closely.

The photo was taken a decade ago…no, more. It was his old Genin group. Iruka's younger self grinned back at him. On the opposite end of the picture Mizuki stared off into space, a bored look on his face. Iruka shook his head and sighed, placing Mizuki in the back of his mind. Instead, he focused on the figure in the middle of the photo. A young, pale girl with striking violet eyes looked back, the corners of her mouth turned up into the slightest of smiles. Iruka traced her outline absentmindedly. A small frown played across his face, but he quickly shook it off. He was taking Naruto out for Ramen tonight, now was no time to be in a glum mood…

A sharp rapping on the door made him jump, and as he did the picture tumbled out of his hands and fell to the ground, the glass in the frame shattering.

"Damn it," Iruka swore under his breath. Crouching down, he gingerly picked up the frame and called out, "It's open, come in."

He heard the door open and close, and as he started to carefully pick up the shards of glass he yelled again, "Naruto, I'm back here. I just need to pick this up then we can…" as he was talking, he heard footsteps coming towards him, although the figure that stepped into the room most definitely was NOT Naruto. Iruka stopped, hand poised over the frame and ready to drop a shard of glass, and looked up at the person in his room.

At first, it didn't properly register. A woman, about his age, with long, dark brown hair down to her waist. With one hand, she tucked a strand of errant hair behind her ear, revealing a fair, pale complexion. Two violet eyes seemed to sparkle as the woman looked back at him, a slight, expectant grin on her face.

Iruka's chest constricted momentarily, and he squeezed his hands into fists, willing himself to breathe. Once again, the picture tumbled out of his hands, but this time he ignored it. Standing up, he looked at the woman in amazement.

"Nami?" he asked.

"Iruka-kun," the woman replied. "It's been a long time…" walking towards him, she bent over and picked up the picture. She held it up and smiled. "We look so little…" trailing off, she frowned, and then set the picture on Iruka's desk.

"Iruka, you're bleeding."

"Hmm?" Iruka glanced towards where Nami was pointing. "Oh!" Indeed, a small trickle of blood was flowing down his hand. He unclenched his fist, and felt a stinging pain in the palm of his hand.

"Here, let me see…" Nami was at his side, and taking his injured hand she examined it closely. She picked out the shard of glass that had cut itself into Iruka's hand, then placed her right hand, palm down, over Iruka's. A soft blue glow began to pulsate from her hand, and the cut on Iruka's hand stitched itself back together. Iruka, who had remained in kind of a stunned silence up until this point, closed his hand over hers, a large grin breaking out on his face.

"Nami, I didn't think I would ever see you again. How are you? What are you doing here?"

The shadow of a frown crossed Nami's face and she banished it quickly, but not before Iruka noticed.

"I'm…well, I'm here. So I'm good. But the reason I'm here…" she trailed off.

"Is…" Iruka prompted her.

With her free hand, Nami twirled a strand of hair around her finger nervously. "I've…been having those kinds of dreams again."

Iruka didn't have to ask what she meant by that. He knew. All through her childhood Nami had been plagued by terrible nightmares, and in an indirect way they were why she had to leave Konaha in the first place.

A loud squawk made both Iruka and Nami jump.

"EHHHH? IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and pointing, his mouth seeming to threaten to unhinge and drop to the floor. "Who…" Naruto trailed off, a devious look appearing on his face. "Ne, ne…Iruka-sensei, is she your 'kore'?" Naruto asked, holding his pinky finger up and waving it in his former teacher's face.

"Wha…" noticing that he was still holding Nami's hand, Iruka quickly dropped it, his face turning red. "NO!" he exclaimed, vigorously rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while waving the other emphatically back and forth in the air. Suddenly realizing that he was denying it a little TOO strongly, Iruka brought it down a notch.

"I mean," he said, "No, this is my former teammate, Kawachi Shiranami. Nami, this is one of my old students, Uzamaki Naruto."

Naruto, still looking unconvinced, turned his attention to the woman. She smiled, and inclined her head in a slight bow. "Pleased to meet you Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened, as if he had just realized something of the utmost importance. "Anosa, Anosa…Iruka-sensei, does this mean she's coming for ramen too? SHE CAN'T HAVE MY SHARE - OWWW!" Naruto yelped as Iruka smacked him across the back of his head.

"Bakairo! Be polite. Apologize or no one is getting ramen tonight." Iruka looked at Nami, who appeared to be trying her best to smother a fit of laughter.

"OkayOKAY!" Naruto grumbled. "Sorry I was rude, lady."

"Kawachi-San," Iruka corrected him.

"SORRY KAWACHI-SAN!"

"Actually," Nami finally spoke up. "There's no need for formality. You can call me Nami."

"AHHHHHHH!" shrieked Naruto, thoroughly frustrated. "Can we just GO already? I'm STARVING and I have soooooooo much to tell you!"

"You boys go ahead," Nami said. Iruka looked at her sharply. "It's okay," she laughed. "It seems like you two have a lot of catching up to do, and I need to speak with Hokage-sama…"

"Nami, are you in some kind of trouble?" Iruka asked seriously. At the mention of "trouble" Naruto stared at Nami with a renewed sense of interest and a little more respect.

"Iruka…not at the moment. Just go, it will be fine," Nami said, ushering Iruka towards the door. Seeing he was still unconvinced, Nami laughed. "I told you it will be okay. Besides, we can talk when you get back. It's been more than a decade already, what's the harm in waiting a few more hours?"

"And you promise you'll be here when I get back?" Iruka questioned.

"Promise," Nami nodded.

"And you'll tell me everything?"

"You have my word," Nami said solemnly.

Iruka and Nami locked eyes for a moment. Finally, Iruka turned to Naruto.

"So…are you ready yet?" he asked innocently.

"AM _I _READY?" Naruto yelped indignantly.

Laughing, Iruka began walking towards Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto hot on his heels. Nami watched them until they disappeared around the corner, then turned and silently made her way to the Hokage's home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Sandaime chewed pensively on the end of his pipe, and stared at the young woman across from him. She met and held his gaze for several seconds, before nervously looking down and smoothing out a few non-existent wrinkles in her pants.

"I know I shouldn't be here…" she began, but the aged Hokage cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Under the circumstances, I believe it can be excused," he said. She glanced at him, and asked slowly,

"Then you believe what I've told you?"

The Hokage inclined his head slightly. "I'd be a fool to not at least consider it," he smiled gently. "I am many things, but I would like to think that a fool is not one of them," he added, with a touch of humor in his voice.

Nami hesitated, then said softly, "May I ask one thing?" Seeing Sandaime nod, she continued. "I'd like to remain here. This is my home, and I feel as though I've seen these things for a reason. My place is here…I want to protect…"

"Impossible," interjected Izumo, one of the shinobis at Sandaime's side. "You weren't supposed to return to this village at all, you're lucky Hokage-sama…"

"Enough," the Third said quietly, but firmly.

"Hokage-sama?" breathed the startled ninja.

"Did you seek the recommended treatment?" the Third asked Nami.

Nami nodded. "We were able to find her…and she gave me this," Nami stood up, and turned her back to the Hokage, pulling back her hair to reveal a seal on the back of her neck. It formed the vague shape of a triangle, which was made up of three parts. The top part was a narrow circle, which was intertwined with a perfect circle. Intersecting across the bottom of that circle was a dual arch, like two wave crests.

"How have you been feeling?" asked Sandaime, not unkindly.

Nami turned around, and sat back down. She shrugged, and answered "Okay, I guess," she smiled wanly. "I still don't sleep much…nightmares," she added, after a pause. "But there have been no further…incidents," she finished.

The Hokage appeared to be considering her words. He let out a long, slow puff of smoke, and closed his eyes. Making a decision, he opened them, and looking at Nami he said,

"Whether you stay or go is not a decision that can be made by one alone. This is something that should be, and will be discussed. In a few days, we will be holding a meeting to discuss the upcoming chunnin exams. I want you to be there, and then we can let your fellow shinobis decide. Until then, you are free to remain in Konaha. If you wait just a moment, arrangements will be made for a place for you to stay."

Nami bowed low. "Thank you, Hokage-Sama." She received a key and was told the location of an empty apartment that she could use, and she left quickly.

Once outside, Nami thought of the hostility she had seen in the eyes of Izumo and his friend, Kotetsu and shivered. She hadn't exactly been expecting the warmest of welcomes, but their continued distrust after all these years both surprised and saddened her. Clearly, the ten years in which she had been absent hadn't been sufficient, Nami thought a little bitterly. If former classmates of hers reacted this way, what could she expect from the rest of the village? Not that she completely blamed them. Nami sighed, and made her way back to Iruka's house. He still hadn't returned from his visit with Naruto, so Nami sat down out in front of his door to wait. Leaning her back against the cool stone exterior of the building, Nami closed her eyes and tried not to remember the day she was forced to leave Konaha.

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"And then, and then," Naruto said in an excited tone, "Kakashi-Sensei was trapped in this water-prison jutsu! And he told us to run…"

"Mmmm," muttered Iruka distractedly, as he twirled the noodles of his ramen around in the bowl. Sensing he didn't have his teacher's undivided attention, Naruto frowned and squawked disapprovingly, "Ne…IRUKA-SENSEI, have you even been listening?"

Iruka blinked, and looked at Naruto. "Of course I have. You just said how Kakashi-sensei was…"

"So who's that lady again?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Iruka was a bit thrown off balance by the sudden change in subject, and rubbing the back of his neck he replied, "Well, like I told you, she was in my genin group.."

"Then how come I haven't seen her before now? Has she been away on a mission or something?" Naruto interrupted.

"No," Iruka frowned, choosing his next words carefully. "She was…sick. No one here could really help her, so she and her family left to find someone who could."

"She's sick? She didn't _look_ sick," Naruto frowned.

"No, she didn't, did she?" Iruka said, more to himself than to Naruto.

"But why was she gone so long then? She said ten years…?" Naruto trailed off, looking more than a little confused.

"Well, Nami had to see one of the legendary Sanin, Tsunade-sama. She isn't an easy person to track down," Iruka smiled, remembering some of the wilder stories he had heard about the woman.

"But ten years?" Naruto asked a bit incredulously. "Can it really take that long to find someone? And why did you ask her if she was in trouble?"

Iruka's eyes flicked away from Naruto. They settled on the empty bowl in front of the young boy. "Naruto," he said brightly, "You've finished already? How would you like another bowl?"

At the mention of more ramen, Naruto's eyes lit up and he began to enthusiastically shout his order to the old man that owned the restaurant. Iruka smiled, then continued,

"Why don't you finish telling me about your mission? How did you manage to get Kakashi free?"

Naruto enthusiastically resumed his tale, told between enormous mouthfuls of his favorite food. Iruka made sure that his attention did not wander again, more than a little grateful that his former student had such a large appetite and such a short attention span.


End file.
